“It’s weirdly satisfying, but disgusting and horrifying,” says the actor of that finale climax.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Sunday’s season finale ofThe White Lotus.
Bartlett was electric all season long onThe White Lotusfor his frenetic portrayal of rapidly unhinged resort manner Armond.
Murray Bartlett on ‘The White Lotus’.Credit: Mario Perez/HBO
Andwhywas Armond stabbed, you may ask?
Well, that would be because he broke into Shane’s room the infamous Pineapple Suite!!!
and chose to squat down and defecate into a fully packed suitcase… as one does.
Murray Bartlett on ‘The White Lotus.'.Mario Perez/HBO
(Also see to it to read ourfinale Q&A with creator Mike White.)
Did you know that from the get-go when you signed on?
MURRAY BARTLETT:I didn’t, no.
Murray Bartlett, Alexandra Daddario, and Jake Lacy on ‘The White Lotus.'.Mario Perez/HBO
So yeah, it was a shock to me when Armand died.
I didn’t expect it.
Yeah, I mean, there were moments along the way where I thought it was a possibility.
Murray Bartlett and Lukas Gage on ‘The White Lotus.'.Mario Perez/HBO
But it was definitely shocking in a great way.
I feel like it’s sort of fitting in some ways.
So yeah, I was equally shocked and kind of satisfied.
So how did you find out?
Did Mike tell you, or are you just reading a script and then you see what happened?
I just read the script!
And I was like, “No, I’ve read the first one.”
He’s like, “Oh, oh, we’ll have to get those to you.”
I was like, “Yeah.
But I mean, it was all good.
What a roller coaster ride of a character to play.
It’s an actor’s dream.
A roller coaster is a good way to describe his final evening.
This is what he does really well.
He knows that this is his dance.
And so, he’s a performer.
And that’s what he does.
This is his moment in the spotlight.
So he just relishes every second of it.
You feel like you’re glowing.
Plus, he’s taken a lot of drugs [laughs], so that also elevates it.
It was so much fun to play that.
So it was super fun.
Me and the camera were kind of doing this little choreography.
So it was very fun and very conducive to a drug-induced sort of euphoria.
He loves this existence and his role, because it is his chance to be a performer.
He’s very good at it.
He loves running a tight ship.
He loves being in charge, being in control of all this stuff.
But at the same time, some of these people are just horrible.
There’s also this interesting split between his public and his sort of inner persona.
I think it’s kind of fascinating, that sort of dance.
And I think we all experience that.
I was living in New York for many years.
I love New York.
And then other times, it just looks kind of magical.
So I think he’s definitely living that out.
Why did he go to the Pineapple Suite?
What was he planning to do when he walked in there?
Was there any sort of specific plan he had in mind before seeing the suitcase?
It was like a nightmare.
I don’t even know that any of it is conscious at that point.
He’s very high, and he’s basically sort of let go into his spiral.
So I don’t know.
I think it is an intention that he goes there to do that.
And he’s ready to follow through.
Had you seen it and, if so, what was your reaction?
I did not expect it to be that explicit, because it wasn’t written that way.
And then we shot all this coverage with closeups and cutting from this to that.
It’s weirdly satisfying, but disgusting and horrifying.
It’s such a Mike White moment.
It’s incredibly uncomfortable, and he will take it to that place, that is really confronting.
And I just love that about him.
And I love that about that moment.
you’re free to’t escape it.
You’re locked in a two-shot, and you could’t pretend it’s not happening.
It’s very clearly happening.
And it was very clearly happening toyou.
So what was it like filming that day?
What were you like before you went to the set that day knowing that was coming up?
And then what was it like actually going through with it?
Well, actually, something happened to the schedule, and that day was brought forward.
So we didn’t think we were shooting that day.
And we were in makeup and getting ready, and then suddenly we’re into that stuff.
So maybe that’s the best way to do it.
[Laughs] I didn’t have any time to really worry about it.
So it was kind of dreamy.
And Mike sets this tone of fun and play on set.
However, I’m s—ting in a suitcase.
[Laughs]So it’s just going to be weird.
You just can’t get away from it.
But it as just weird.
Thank God this is over.”
It’s like, he doesn’t have to deal with that s— anymore.
I don’t think he’s thinking that when he’s getting stabbed.
Obviously, it’s shock and pain and like, I don’t want to die.
What was your relationship like with Jake Lacy, who played Shane?
The scenes with you guys are so disturbingly funny with the game of cat-and-mouse between you two.
It was a really tight schedule.
We didn’t have rehearsal outside coming into the scenes.
There’s just no way either of these characters are going to let the other one win.
So it’s just this great tension to play.
And we started up, and we’re just like both at a 10, on our first rehearsal.
And it was like, oh my God, awesome.
I felt like we met each other at such a great place.
We just also had so much fun.
It was interesting, because I had never met or worked with Jake before.
And after that first scene, I felt like we were really bonded.
It was like we sparred together in some kind of fencing match or something.
It was really cool.
What can you tell me about filming that scene?
We talked very early on with Mike.
[Laughs]But it seemed really unexpected and kind of perfect for that moment.
It was kind of shocking and unexpected, but it also does play into the dynamic of those characters.
So definitely a collaborative kind of thing.
Sum up the experience of playing this character, because I have to imagine it was an absolute blast.
There were moments of terror in the very beginning.
And then it was just an absolute blast.
I can’t express how fun it was.
That’s a testament to Mike and the way he works.
It was a very unique experience to play a character like this that completely lets loose.
You get to really dive into his inner world in a way that becomes his outer world.
So it was incredibly satisfying and challenging.
And I realized there’s bits of Armond that live in me.
It was just a completely joyful experience.
Well, it’s Mike White.
Could be an evil twin, a ghost.
I mean, it’s really all on the table, isn’t it?
